


You Can Take Buck out of Firefighting, But You Can't Take Firefighting out of Buck

by marvelmedigeekfics



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Amnesia, Buck Centric, Family Feels, Feels, Firefam Feels, Multi, Pre-Relationship, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24226534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelmedigeekfics/pseuds/marvelmedigeekfics
Summary: Buck is in an accident and when he wakes up, he has no idea who these strangers are next to him and no recollection of anything that has happened since he joined the 118. Can he (and the team) ever get back to normal?
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Firehouse 118 Crew, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Howie "Chimney" Han, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Maddie Buckley, Evan “Buck” Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 97





	You Can Take Buck out of Firefighting, But You Can't Take Firefighting out of Buck

**Author's Note:**

> I recently saw a prompt on tumblr @justsmilestuffhappens and here we are. There may be a few oddities, let me know and I'll fix them. Enjoy!  
> And I forgot Doug existed when I wrote this soooo...

One second, Evan Buckley is driving down the freeway, trying not to be late and the next second, he has no idea what’s going on. He opens his eyes with no recollection of anyone or anything, except Maddie.

“Maddie, I’m going to be late.” He is almost out of bed before Maddie and someone else grab his wrists and gently propel him back into the bed.

“I’m sure the station will understand.” Maddie gestures to the three men and one woman next to her.

“What do you mean the station? I work at a bar, Maddie. I live in South America. Speaking of which, why did you and all of these people I’ve never met fly down here just to hear me get fired? I’m touched Maddie, really, but I don’t need an audience.” Everyone in the room looks confused, including Evan himself.

“What year is it, Buck?” The tallest man asks.

“It’s 2014. And my name is Evan.” He pulls out his phone and quickly tries to call Amy, he’s going to be late. Hopefully not too late. He needs this job. Amy never does answer.

“It’s 2020.” Maddie says gently.

“Huh?” Evan laughs to himself, but stops when he sees how grave everyone’s faces have become. “It’s 2014, I don’t know who paid you to make me think I’m losing my mind, but it’s not funny.”

“So you don’t remember your leg getting crushed by a ladder truck, or the tsunami?” The woman asks incredulously.

“Or me getting rebar through my brain. And then getting stabbed by your sisters ex husband.”

“Or me falling into a well?”

Evans face gets more and more confused the longer they talk. All those awful things happened to them? To him? There’s no way.

He bolts for the door and runs. He can’t be late to work. Again.

As he passes by the entrance to the hospital, he notices the words in English and how he has no idea how to get to work. All the streets look different and completely out of order.

Bobby, Chimney, Eddie, Hen and Maddie manage to catch up with Buck before he hails a cab. Hen snags a newspaper off a stand and promises to return it.

All of them are worried, but no one more than Eddie and Maddie. Their expressions turn downright panicked when Buck doesn’t believe the newspaper is legit. “You guys really go all out with your pranks, don’t you? Look I am flattered that you are going to all the trouble, but I really have to get to work.”

“At least let us walk you. I’m Howie, but everyone calls me Chimney.”

“I bet that’s a funny story.” Evan smiles and starts walking, thankfully in the right direction.

“It is.” Everyone choruses in sync.

By the time the 6 of them make it down to the beach, Evan understands where Chimney got his name, and knows everyone else’s names. They ask him a bunch of questions about LA (he’s never been), relationships (he hasn’t had one longer than 2 dates in years), and Christopher (sounds like a cool kid, but he can’t pretend to know him). But he can’t ignore the way one of the men, Eddie, keeps looking at him. Evan concentrates, but he can’t place him anywhere in his past. So he just silently appreciates the attention. Eddie’s cute, brooding as hell, but cute. Especially the way he scrunches his nose when somebody brings up Abby, especially when it involves a train crash. No clue what’s up with that.

The beach is packed and the pier is bustling with people. Down below the pier is a few pieces of construction equipment, working steadily on some sort of project.

There’s no bar that looks like the one Evan works at, but is has to be around somewhere. He’s been working there all summer, how could he have forgotten where it is? It’s not like it can just walk off.

Before he can look around, halfway down the pier there’s a sickening crack. Half the pier plunges into the sand right before his eyes. Evan turns around and everyone who was just with him runs down the pier ahead of him. Before he can even think, he jumps into action right beside Eddie. It’s almost like he’s done this before, because neither of them miss a step working side by side. They don’t even have to talk to know what the other needs. To hold pressure to a wound, or to grab the hand of a dangling victim.

Eddie almost doesn’t remember that Buck has amnesia, that’s how normal he’s acting. Jumping into help someone else, consequences be damned? That’s Buck alright, and Eddie can’t help but be proud. Even if Buck doesn’t think he’s a firefighter, he still acts like one. But he can’t help but think about what will happen if Buck can’t remember him. Their relationship.

“We make a good team.” Buck says, winking.

“LA’s finest.” Eddie replies.

There’s a knowing glance shared between Hen and Chimney and another between Maddie and Bobby. Eddie and Buck are both seemingly oblivious, but everyone else knows why they make such a good team, and it won’t go away even if Buck has amnesia. And that reason? A little something called love.

After every victim is accounted for, when the 6 first responders regroup, everyone looks at Buck curiously.

“I shouldn’t be surprised by you jumping into help, Buck.” Hen says, side eyeing him a little.

Buck just shrugs. Jumping in was as natural as breathing. Maybe he should quit bartending, because helping people: that’s his real passion. And the nickname’s kind of growing on him. Buck. Yeah, that feels right too.

\--

Buck finally convinces the 118 to go home. He’s fine, he insists. Hen, Bobby and Eddie all have families to get home too. They reluctantly do, each making him promise to go to the hospital if he feels dizzy, starts throwing up, gets a headache, faints, etc. The textbook symptoms of a traumatic brain injury are interesting and all, but Buck’s fine.

Maddie and Chimney refuse to leave, and Buck gives up trying to talk them into going. So he walks down the pier, listening to the water lap against the shore and the muted bustle of people.

Could those people be right about him actually being a firefighter? He knew the way he had jumped in, most people didn’t even think about. He knew he liked helping people, and that’s what he had been doing today. Today. At the accident site, the one on the freeway. And then, nothing. His memory stops right there.

And then he remembers Eddie. What he feels for him: the love, the pride, the peace. He has to fix this, before Eddie leaves him too. 

Buck sighs deeply, and stands there for a second. There was no prank. He should apologize, return to the station. Just as he turns around, he hears a scream.

Hanging from the pier is a teenage girl, and her father is begging for her to hold on. Buck looks around quickly, and catches his sister’s eye. Behind her is a spool of rope, probably left over from some sort of project.

Buck grabs the rope, while Chimney does the medical eval. Her hands are slipping and before she falls Buck catches her and forces himself to stay still. He wants nothing more than to just pull her up, but Chimney quickly tells him not too.

“I’m a firefighter. We got you.” Buck says, and he swears he hears Maddie cheer quietly.

After the girl is pulled to safety with the help of her core muscles, Buck wipes the dust of his shoulders. “Hot shot.” Maddie teases.

“I’m sorry I thought you were pranking me.” Buck says.

“Amnesia gone? What year is it?” Chimney says, carefully squeezing Maddie’s hand.

“It’s 2020, Chimney.”

“What day is it?”

“Friday.”

“Where do you work?”

“I’m a firefighter at Station 118 in Los Angeles, California.”

“Whew!’ Chimney mocks wiping the sweat of his forehead. “We don’t want to have to replace you.”

“Awww.” 

“It’s exhausting having to train the newbies.”

“I wasn’t that bad!” 

\--

Later that night, Buck knocks on Eddie’s door. He answers it immediately, and his eyebrows etch together in concern.

“Are you okay?”

“I noticed how you looked at me today.”

“What do you mean?”

“You looked at me like you couldn’t keep your eyes off of me. It’s how Chimney looks at my sister.”

“I-uh.”

“Then I realized you’ve looked at me like that since you brought Christopher to me after the tsunami. It’s how I look at you.”

“You remember the tsunami?”

“Don’t you? Worst day of my life.”

“I thought you had amnesia.”

“Had.”

“So, you remember things now?”

“I do.”

“Buck!” A gleeful Christopher appears behind his father.

“Chris! How you doing, buddy?” Buck kneels down to hug his favorite kid.

“Good. Dad said you got hurt today.”

“I did, buddy. But I’m okay now.” Chris and Buck grin at each other, happiness radiating off of them. Eddie smiles softly in the background.

“Chimney texted and said you saved a girl. You done good, Buck.” Eddie says, teasing Buck fondly.

“Even a good firefighter when I don’t remember I am one.” Buck scoops Chris up into another hug, and doesn’t shift when Eddie wraps his arms around both of them.

“I thought I lost my best friend.” Eddie whispers into Buck’s ear. 

“I’m not going anywhere. Not for a long time.” Buck says in his normal voice, moving to rest his forehead against Eddie’s.

“Good. Because you’re our Buck.” Christopher says.

And that he is.


End file.
